1st BIR Awards Hack-A-Tax Winners, Taxpayer Services Go Digital

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)  announced the winners of the HACK-A-TAX Innovation Challenge, a nationwide competition on developing online applications that would facilitate faster and more convenient digital taxpayer transactions with the BIR.

The virtual awarding ceremony was led by BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay. He was joined by Department of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III; USAID Mission Director Lawrence Hardy II; PayMaya Philippines founder & CEO Orlando Vea; and Developers Connect Philippines founder Winston Damarillo.

Among all the one-hundred seventy- three (173) participants, the following emerged as the Top three (3) winners as announced by DCIR Lanee Cui- David of the Information Systems Group (ISG): 2nd Runner Up winning P 100,000.00 was Third Channel from Manila; the 1st Runner-up was eConnect of Southern Luzon winning P 200,000; and for the Grand Prize ChatGenie from Manila won the P 300,000.00 and Special Award from PayMaya amounting to P 50,000.00.

Supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), HACK-A-TAX aims to provide simple, streamlined, and serviceable digital tax services especially for the micro- and small enterprises that represent 90% of business taxpayers. With the mobile apps solutions developed through HACK-A-TAX, taxpayers will no longer have to visit the internal revenue office and fill out long, complex tax forms or line up at authorized agent banks for over-the-counter transactions.

“The BIR is fully committed to innovate and elevate the taxpayer experience and automate to allow “anytime-and-anywhere” tax services for taxpayers by 2022. The expansion of electronic and digital platforms for tax filing payments increases taxpayer compliance, fosters transparency, and promotes the shift to digital transactions as we continue to adapt government services to the new normal,” says BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay.

According to DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, “this event marks another milestone for the Duterte administration as it continues to rev up tax administration and expand digital connectivity, which is both crucial to enhancing fiscal performance and improving the ease of doing business in the country..”

USAID Mission Director Lawrence Hardy II cites the continuing support of USAID, through its E-PESO Project, of BIR’s initiatives to simplify tax filing and promote electronic payment as the bureau transitions into a fully digitized revenue regime. “USAID looks forward to continuing our work with the Philippine government and private sector as we promote digital technology initiatives that advance inclusive, resilient growth for the country,” Director Hardy said

USAID’s five-year E-PESO project help transition the Philippine economy from cash/ checks to electronic payments for broader-based economic growth and financial inclusion. It is a partner of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the payments industry in the establishment of the National Retail Payments System (NRPS) policy, the PESONet and Instapay electronic payments services, and in the ongoing “Stay at Home, Use E-Payments” communications campaign to encourage Filipinos to use digital payments especially during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

HACK-A-TAX is an innovative model co-created by the government and the private sector to foster digital transformation in government services and transactions.

Developers Connect Philippines founder Winston Damarillo says “the Hackatax journey showcases the power of applying innovation and creativity to almost any subject matter, revenue collections included. I had never thought that “paying taxes” can be made interactive and even enjoyable. USAID has done a tremendous job in creating synergy between the startup ecosystem and the BIR to ease the burden of the taxpayers. We are happy to collaborate with USAID, the BIR, and all the partners in the digital innovation space.”

Apart from owning, operating, maintaining, and monetizing their apps, the winners of the competition also received cash prizes. There were over a hundred applicants nationwide. Twenty semi-finalists went through an intensive series of boot camps with mentors such as BIR resource persons, tax experts, IT developers, and industry leaders to guide them throughout the planning and app development stage. Twelve finalists made it to final judging on June 19 and 20.

HACK-A-TAX was launched in October 2019 and is being implemented as a joint project of the BIR and USAID. It is also co-organized with the Developers Connect Philippines (DevCon) along with several private sector partners including Microsoft Philippines, Oracle Philippines, Amazon Web Services, Google Philippines, Talino Venture Labs, PayMaya Philippines, Inc., Union Bank of the Philippines, and Golden Arches Development Corporation (McDonalds Philippines). HACK^TAX is also supported by the Tax Management Association of the Philippines (TMAP), Center for Strategic Reforms Philippines, and the Ateneo de Manila University.